The profitability of proof

Generating fake news and acting on whims are all the rage these days. Today’s political discussions in particular are all too often making headlines for involving assertions made with little attempt (or no attempt whatsoever) to offer supportive evidence. But lack of evidence in the corporate world is also a serious issue.

Indeed, while day-to-day business discussions are not exactly a staple of media consumption, managers frequently issue or accept claims that lack factual support. And they were doing so long before media managers in the U.S. White House popularized the term “alternative facts.” As Thomas Davenport pointed out in a 2009 HBR article, corporate decision makers regularly ignore the need for facts when they “fiddle with offerings, try out distribution approaches, and alter how work gets done, usually acting on little more than gut feel or seeming common sense.”

To make matters worse, many business bets and guestimates are wrapped up “in the language of science, creating an illusion of evidence.” See article